Public kiosk providing near field communication services

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for making content elements available for use at a public computing kiosk operated by a first-party operator. The public computing kiosk can receive a wireless communication from a hand-held device utilized by a second-party end user located in close physical proximity to the public computing kiosk. The wireless communication can include information identifying a third-party provider of the hand-held device with the third-party provider and the first-party operator being different entities. The public computing kiosk can transmit a request to a computing system including information identifying the third-party provider of the hand-held device, receive a transmission including a set of content descriptors, and display the set of content descriptors to the second-party end user. The public computing kiosk can also accept selection of content descriptors and execute at least one content element corresponding to at least one content descriptor.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/245,503 filed Sep. 26, 2011, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter relates in general to Near FieldCommunication (NFC) services and in particular to public kiosksproviding NFC services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

NFC enables short-range, contactless, wireless communication betweenvarious devices, for example, mobile telephones, service terminals, orkiosks and NFC-compatible stickers, fobs, cards, or tags. NFC requiresat least two devices, a first device having a medium for storing dataand a second device having at least a reader for reading data. NFC is aform of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) with a short operatingdistance, typically requiring proximity of a few centimeters. Forexample, a reader in the second device can emit a short-range radiosignal that when brought into close proximity to the first device canpower a chip within a tag in the first device allowing the reader toread the small amount of data that is stored on that chip.

NFC services can include payment services, advertising services, andticketing services. For example, an NFC-enabled device can be used tomake a payment at a point-of-sale terminal, download a coupon from adisplay at a retailer, or add funds to a transportation ticket at ametro station. The availability of NFC services is often controlled bythe operator of the service interface. For example, a retailer mayoperate a point-of-sale terminal to offer payment and coupon options forproducts in the retail outlet, and a transportation provider may operatea kiosk in a transportation terminal to offer ticketing options to usersof that city's transportation systems. This type of control by theservice interface operator can limit the proliferation of useful NFCservices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein are embodiments of methods and systems for makingcontent elements available for use at a public computing kiosk.

One aspect of the disclosed embodiments is a method for making contentelements available for use at a public computing kiosk operated by afirst-party operator. The method includes receiving at the publiccomputing kiosk a wireless communication from a hand-held deviceutilized by a second-party end user located in close physical proximityto the public computing kiosk. In this method the public computing kioskincludes a kiosk CPU and a kiosk memory and a kiosk display. Thewireless communication includes information identifying a third-partyprovider of the hand-held device, and the third-party provider of thehand-held device and the first-party operator of the public computingkiosk are different entities.

The method further includes authenticating the information identifyingthe third-party provider of the hand-held device, transmitting from thepublic computing kiosk to a computing system a request including atleast a portion of the information identifying the third-party providerof the hand-held device, and receiving at the public computing kiosk atransmission from the computing system in response to the request. Thetransmission includes a set of content descriptors wherein at least onecontent descriptor corresponds to at least one content element and theset of content descriptors corresponding to the at least one contentelement are based on the information identifying the third-partyprovider. The method further includes displaying on the public computingkiosk the set of content descriptors to the second-party end user,accepting as input to the public computing kiosk selection of at leastone content descriptor from the set of content descriptors by thesecond-party end user, executing at the public computing kiosk the atleast one content element corresponding to the at least one contentdescriptor selected by the second-party end user, and displaying aresult of the execution of the at least one content element to thesecond-party end user

Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments is a system for makingcontent elements available for use at a public computing kiosk operatedby a first-party operator. The system includes a computing systemincluding one or more system processors and system memory, a hand-helddevice including device memory, and a public computing kiosk configuredto communicate with the computing system and with the hand-held device.The public computing kiosk includes a kiosk display visible to asecond-party end user, a kiosk processor for controlling the operationsof the public computing kiosk; and kiosk memory for storing data andprogram instructions used by the kiosk processor. The kiosk processor isconfigured to execute instructions stored in the kiosk memory to receivea wireless communication from the hand-held device utilized by thesecond-party end user located in close physical proximity to the publiccomputing kiosk.

In this system, the wireless communication includes informationidentifying a third-party provider of the hand-held device, and thethird-party provider of the hand-held device and the first-partyoperator of the public computing kiosk are different entities. The kioskprocessor is further configured to authenticate the informationidentifying the third-party provider of the hand-held device, transmitfrom the public computing kiosk to the computing system a requestincluding at least a portion of the information identifying thethird-party provider of the hand-held device, and receive at the publiccomputing kiosk a transmission from the computing system over thenetwork in response to the request. The transmission includes a set ofcontent descriptors wherein at least one content descriptor correspondsto at least one content element. The set of content descriptorscorresponding to the at least one content element are based on theinformation identifying the third-party provider. The processor isfurther configured to display on the public computing kiosk the set ofcontent descriptors to the second-party end user, accept as input to thepublic computing kiosk selection of at least one content descriptor fromthe set of content descriptors by the second-party end user, execute atthe public computing kiosk the at least one content elementcorresponding to the at least one content descriptor selected by thesecond-party end user, and display a result of the execution of the atleast one content element to the second-party end user.

These and other embodiments will be described in additional detailhereafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawingswherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for making content elementsavailable for use at a public computing kiosk;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the use of the system depicted inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a logic flowchart of a process performed by the publiccomputing kiosk in the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENTS

A first-party operator can install a public computing kiosk in ahigh-traffic, public area frequented by a plurality of second-party endusers. The second-party end users can utilize hand-held devices issuedby, manufactured by, or provided with operating systems by third-partyproviders. The hand-held devices can be NFC-enabled devices that willinteract with the public computing kiosk when in close proximity withthe public computing kiosk, allowing NFC services in the form of contentelements to be offered at the public computing kiosk. The first-partyoperator and third-party provider of the hand-held device can bedifferent entities, e.g. neither the same party nor parties tiedtogether by a business relationship. With a first party operating thepublic computing kiosk and a third party providing the hand-held device,a greater variety of NFC services can be offered to second-party endusers through the public computing kiosk.

For example, a public shopping mall may operate a public computing kioskas a first-party operator. Mobile phone companies can issue NFC-enabledhand-held devices, mobile phones, to second-party end users, i.e.,shoppers strolling through the shopping mall. The shoppers can bring themobile phones in close proximity to the public computing kiosk and beoffered a variety of NFC services in the form of content elementsthrough a fourth-party application provider that has a relationship withthe third-party provider of the given mobile phone. For example, anapplication marketplace such as Android Market by Google TM can beaccessed with the public computing kiosk using a mobile telephone issuedby a third-party provider such as Sprint, Verizon, or other issuersrunning the Android operating system. The NFC services available on thepublic computing kiosk are not chosen by the shopping mall. The publiccomputing kiosk can display information relating to content elementsoffered by the fourth-party application provider, e.g. Android Market,thus encouraging broader proliferation of NFC services in publiclocations.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 10 in accordance with oneembodiment. The system 10 can include a computing system 12, a network14, a public computing kiosk 16, and a hand-held device 18. Thecomputing system 12 can be, for example, a server having an internalconfiguration of hardware including a processor such as a system centralprocessing unit, system CPU 20, and a system memory 22. The system CPU20 can be a controller for controlling the operations of the computingsystem 12. The system CPU 20 is connected to the system memory 22 by,for example, a memory bus. The system memory 22 can include randomaccess memory (RAM) or any other suitable memory device. The systemmemory 22 can store data and program instructions which are used by thesystem CPU 20. Other suitable implementations of the computing system 12are possible, including implementations with two or more processorscarrying out the processing required for the computing system 12.

In one embodiment, content elements 24 are resident on or otherwiseaccessible to the computing system 12, for example, available through anapplication marketplace. The public computing kiosk 16 can communicatewith the computing system 12 over the network 14 to request access tothe content elements 24 including applications, games or other software,music, images, video, or any other type of software or data which an enduser may wish to view and download to the public computing kiosk 16 overthe network 14. All such applications, software, and data are referredto here generically as “content elements 24.”

The network 14 couples the computing system 12 to the public computingkiosk 16 for transferring information regarding content elements 24between the computing system 12 and the public computing kiosk 16. Thenetwork 14 can, for example, be the Internet. The network 14 can also bea local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual privatenetwork (VPN), wireless local area network such as one based on the IEEEstandards, or any other means of transferring information about thecontent elements 24 between the computing system 12 and the publiccomputing kiosk 16. Communication between the public computing kiosk 16and computing system 12 can also be based on any other suitable wirelessstandards such as 3G or 4G.

The public computing kiosk 16, in one example, can be a computer havingan internal configuration of hardware including a kiosk CPU 26, a kioskmemory 28 such as RAM, and a kiosk display 30. The kiosk CPU 26 is acontroller for controlling the operations of the public computing kiosk16. The kiosk CPU 26 can be connected to the kiosk memory 28 by, forexample, a memory bus. The kiosk memory 28 stores data and programinstructions which are used by the kiosk CPU 26. Other suitableimplementations of the public computing kiosk 16 are possible, includingan interactive poster, a tablet, or an implementation with two or moreprocessors carrying out the processing required for the public computingkiosk 16.

The kiosk display 30 is configured to present content elements 24 on thepublic computing kiosk 16 in a format suitable for visual review andselection by the end user. For example, the end user can view a set ofcontent descriptors describing content elements 24 on the kiosk display30. The end user can then choose specific content elements 24 by theircontent descriptors to execute on the public computing kiosk 16. Contentdescriptors can include content title, content description, and/or otherpieces of information that can describe the nature of the contentelement 24. The kiosk display 30 may be implemented in various ways,including by a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode-ray tube (CRT).

The public computing kiosk 16 can wirelessly communicate with thehand-held device 18 when, for example, the hand-held device 18 andpublic computing kiosk 16 are in close physical proximity supporting anNFC link between the hand-held device 18 and public computing kiosk 16.The hand-held device 18 can be a mobile device with a tag or tagemulator or NFC reader, or the hand-held device 18 can be a fixed deviceincluding an NFC tag, e.g., the hand-held device 18 can be either an NFCreader or an NFC tag. The public computing kiosk 16 can act as either anNFC reader or NFC tag depending on the configuration of the hand-helddevice 18 with which it communicates.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the hand-held device 18 is shown as amobile device including one or more processors such as a device CPU 32,a device memory 34 such as RAM, and a device display 36. The device CPU32 can control the operations of the hand-held device 18. The device CPU32 can be connected to the device memory 34 by, for example, a memorybus. The device memory 34 stores data and program instructions which areused by the device CPU 32. The hand-held device 18 can be a laptop,notepad, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, mobile telephone,or other suitable mobile device. The hand-held device 18 in the FIG. 1embodiment is a mobile telephone that is equipped with an NFC tagemulator which can communicate with the public computing kiosk 16 havingan NFC reader.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the use of the system 10. Asecond-party end user 40 of a hand-held device 18 can bring thehand-held device 18 into close proximity with the public computing kiosk16 operated by a first-party operator. The hand-held device 18 canwirelessly communicate with the public computing kiosk 16 via, forexample, an NFC link between the hand-held device 18 and the publiccomputing kiosk 16. The public computing kiosk 16 can couple to acomputing system 12 such as a server to transfer information regardingNFC services in the form of a set of content descriptors describingcontent elements 24 between the server and the public computing kiosk16.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first-party operator can be a shoppingmall that installs a public computing kiosk 16 accessible to shoppers inthe shopping mall. The second-party end users 40 can be the shoppersthat use hand-held devices 18 such as mobile telephones. The mobiletelephones can be NFC-enabled devices that will interact with the publiccomputing kiosk 16 when in close proximity with the public computingkiosk 16, allowing NFC services to be offered at the public computingkiosk 16. The mobile telephones can be issued by third-party providerssuch as mobile telephone companies including companies such as Sprint orVerizon. When the shopper brings an NFC-enabled mobile telephone inclose proximity to the public computing kiosk 16, the mobile telephoneand public computing kiosk 16 can establish an NFC link.

Upon establishing the NFC link between the mobile telephone and publiccomputing kiosk 16, the public computing kiosk 16 can send a request toa computing system 12 to authenticate the third-party provider of themobile telephone to determine which NFC services can be offered to theshopper on the kiosk display 30 in the form of content descriptors ofcontent elements 24. Delivery of NFC services to the shopper on thekiosk display 30 could involve the third-party provider of the shopper'smobile telephone partnering with a fourth-party application provider todisplay information in the form of content descriptors on the kioskdisplay 30. These content descriptors include information about thecontent elements 24 including such information as content title, contentdescription, content maturity level, or information sharing capabilityof the content element 24.

In this example, the first-party operator, e.g. the shopping mall, andthird-party provider of the hand-held device 18, e.g. Sprint or Verizon,are different parties. The shopping mall does not have influence overthe NFC services available to the third-party provider, and the partiesare not tied together by a business relationship. The shopping mall doesnot choose which NFC services in the form of content elements 24 will beavailable on the public computing kiosk 16. The identification of themobile telephone issued by such third-party providers as Sprint orVerizon will determine which NFC services can be offered to the shopperon the public computing kiosk 16 after authentication of the mobiletelephone at the computing system 12, such as a server in network 14communication with the public computing kiosk 16.

In another embodiment, the first-party operator can be a city, e.g. SanFrancisco, installing a public computing kiosk 16 in a public park. Thesecond-party end users 40 can be visitors that visit the public park andhave hand-held devices 18 such as transportation smartcards. Thetransportation smartcards can be NFC-enabled devices that will interactwith the public computing kiosk 16 when in close proximity with thepublic computing kiosk 16, allowing NFC services to be offered at thepublic computing kiosk 16. The transportation smartcards can be issuedby third-party providers such as transit companies, for example, the SanFrancisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). When the park visitorbrings an NFC-enabled transportation smartcard in close proximity to thepublic computing kiosk 16 in the public park, the transportationsmartcard and public computing kiosk 16 can establish an NFC link.

Upon establishing the NFC link between the transportation smartcard andpublic computing kiosk 16, the public computing kiosk 16 can send arequest to a computing system 12, i.e. a server, to authenticate thatSFMTA issued the transportation smartcard. Delivering NFC services tothe visitor on the kiosk display 30 could include displaying a SFMTAapplication allowing park visitors to add funds to their transportationsmartcards using the public computing kiosk 16 in the public park.

FIG. 3 is a logic flowchart of a process 50 performed by the publiccomputing kiosk 16 in the system 10 described above. Beginning at step52, the public computing kiosk 16 operated by a first-party operator canreceive a communication from the hand-held device 18 utilized by asecond-party end user 40. The communication can include informationidentifying the third-party provider of the hand-held device 18. Thecommunication can be an NFC wireless communication between an NFC readerin the public computing kiosk 16 and an NFC tag or NFC tag emulator inthe hand-held device 18. To receive the NFC communication in thisexample, the hand-held device 18 must be placed in close proximity tothe public computing kiosk 16, no further than a few centimeters. Forexample, the public computing kiosk 16 can determine the identity of thethird-party provider of the hand-held device 18 using data stored on theNFC tag or NFC tag emulator on the hand-held device 18. The hand-helddevice 18 can be a transportation smartcard, laptop, notepad, personaldigital assistant, tablet computer, mobile telephone, or other suitablemobile device capable of NFC wireless communication.

At step 54, the public computing kiosk 16 authenticates the informationidentifying the third-party provider of the hand-held device 18. Forexample, the public kiosk can determine based on the informationprovided by the hand-held device 18 which fourth-party applicationprovider can be contacted to provide content elements 24 that arecompatible with the hand-held device 18. The public computing kiosk 16can also determine from the information identifying the third-partyprovider whether the communication received from the hand-held device 18is authentic—that is, whether the request emanates from a hand-helddevice 18 authorized to view content elements 24 from a fourth-partyapplication provider. For example, the public computing kiosk 16 canauthenticate the third-party provider by requiring the second-party enduser 40 to provide a password to request a set of content descriptorsdescribing content elements 24 from a fourth-party application provider.Alternative or additional authentication mechanisms are also possible.

After the third-party provider of the hand-held device 18 isauthenticated, the public computing kiosk 16 can transmit a request tothe computing system 12 including at least a portion of the informationidentifying the third-party provider of the hand-held device 18 at step56. The information identifying the third-party provider of thehand-held device 18 can support the public computing kiosk 16 indetermining which entity, e.g. a fourth-party application provider, canreceive a request to transmit a set of content descriptors describingcontent elements 24 to the public computing kiosk 16. For example, ifthe public computing kiosk 16 is operated by a shopping mall and thesecond-party end user 40 is a shopper with a mobile telephone issued bya third-party provider such as Sprint or Verizon, the fourth-partyapplication provider can be Android Marketplace which can receive arequest to transmit a set of application descriptions to the publiccomputing kiosk 16 in the shopping mall after the public computing kiosk16 identifies the Sprint or Verizon mobile telephone in close proximityto the public computing kiosk 16.

Once the request is transmitted to the computing system 12, the publiccomputing kiosk 16 can receive a transmission from the computing system12 in response to the request including a set of content descriptorsdescribing content elements 24 at step 58. The transmission from thecomputing system 12 can be, for example, from the Android Marketplace tothe public computing kiosk 16. The transmission from the computingsystem 12 can also be approved by the third-party provider of thehand-held device 18, i.e. Sprint or Verizon, before the transmission tothe public computing kiosk 16 occurs. Approval by the third-partyprovider can be another method of authentication, for example, that thesecond-party end user 40 has valid access to view content elements 24 atthe public computing kiosk 16.

After at least a set of content descriptors are received at the publiccomputing kiosk 16, the public computing kiosk 16 can display the set ofcontent descriptors to the second-party end user 40 at step 60.Displaying at least one content descriptor for each of the contentelements 24 in the set of content elements 24 allows the second-partyend user 40, i.e. a shopper with a mobile telephone, to review availablecontent before selecting a content descriptor of a content element 24 toexecute based on the content descriptor. After the set of contentdescriptors is displayed to the second-party end user 40 at the publiccomputing kiosk 16, the public computing kiosk 16 can accept as inputselection of at least one content descriptor from the set of contentdescriptors by the second-party end user 40 at step 62. The selectioncan be made by, for example, accepting touch inputs on a touch-screendisplay, accepting keyboard inputs, accepting a mouse click selection,or any other suitable means of accepting a selection on the publiccomputing kiosk 16.

Once at least one content descriptor has been selected by thesecond-party end user 40, a determination is made as to whether a secondrequest is made to transmit a copy of at least one content element 24from the computing system 12 to the public computing kiosk 16 atdecision block 64. For example, the second-party end user 40 can make arequest at the public computing kiosk 16 to download a content element24 to the public computing kiosk 16. If there is no second request tothe computing system 12 to transmit a copy of at least one contentelement 24 to the public computing kiosk 16, the public computing kiosk16 executes the at least one content element 24 corresponding to the atleast one content descriptor selected by the second-party end user 40 atstep 66, and the process 50 is complete.

If there is a second request to transmit a copy of at least one contentelement 24 from the computing system 12 to the public computing kiosk16, the second request can be sent to the computing system 12 todownload at least one content element 24 from the computing system 12 tothe public computing kiosk 16 at step 68. The response to the secondrequest is to receive the at least one content element 24 at the publiccomputing kiosk 16 from the computing system 12 at step 70.

If the least content element 24 has been downloaded to the publiccomputing kiosk 16, a determination is made as to whether a thirdrequest is made to transmit a copy of at least one content element 24from the public computing kiosk 16 to the hand-held device 18 atdecision block 72. For example, the hand-held device 18 can make arequest to download a content element 24 from the public computing kiosk16 if the hand-held device 18 is capable of running content elements 24.If there is no third request to the public computing kiosk 16 totransmit a copy of the at least one content element 24 to the hand-helddevice 18, the public computing kiosk 16 executes the at least onecontent element 24 corresponding to the at least one content descriptorselected by the second-party end user 40 at step 66, and the process 50is complete.

If there is a third request to transmit a copy of the at least onecontent element 24 from the public computing kiosk 16 to the hand-helddevice 18, the third request can be received by the public computingkiosk 16 to transmit at least one content element 24 from the publiccomputing kiosk 16 to the hand-held device 18 at step 74. The responseto the third request is for the public computing kiosk 16 to send atleast one content element 24 from the public computing kiosk 16 to thehand-held device 18 at step 76, and the process 50 is complete.

The embodiments of the public computing kiosk 16, hand-held device 18,and computing system 12 (and the algorithms, methods, instructions etc.stored thereon and/or executed thereby) can be realized in hardwareincluding, for example, intellectual property (IP) cores,application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logicarrays, optical processors, programmable logic controllers, microcode,firmware, microcontrollers, servers, microprocessors, digital signalprocessors or any other suitable circuit. In the claims, the term“processor” should be understood as encompassing any the foregoing,either singly or in combination. The terms “signal” and “data” are usedinterchangeably. Further, portions of server and client do notnecessarily have to be implemented in the same manner.

In one embodiment, the public computing kiosk 16, hand-held device 18,and computing system 12 can be implemented using a general purposecomputer/processor with a computer program that, when executed, carriesout any of the respective methods, algorithms and/or instructionsdescribed herein. In addition or alternatively, for example, a specialpurpose computer/processor can be utilized which can contain specializedhardware for carrying out any of the methods, algorithms, orinstructions described herein.

Further, all or a portion of embodiments of the present invention cantake the form of a computer program product accessible from, forexample, a non-transitory computer-usable or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-usable ornon-transitory computer-readable medium can be any device that can, forexample, tangibly contain, store, communicate, or transport the programfor use by or in connection with any processor. The non-transitorymedium can be, for example, an electronic device, a magnetic device, anoptical device, an electromagnetic device, or a semiconductor device.Other suitable non-transitory mediums are also available.

The above-described embodiments have been described in order to alloweasy understanding of the present invention and do not limit the presentinvention. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope ofthe appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalentstructure as is permitted under the law.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for making content elements availablefor use at a public computing kiosk operated by a first-party operator,comprising: receiving at the public computing kiosk a wirelesscommunication from a hand-held device utilized by a second-party enduser located in close physical proximity to the public computing kiosk,the wireless communication including authentication informationassociated with a third-party provider, wherein the hand-held deviceincludes a near field communication (NFC) tag, the public computingkiosk includes an NFC reader for reading the NFC tag, a kiosk CPU, akiosk memory, and a kiosk display, and the wireless communication istransmitted via an NFC link; transmitting the authentication informationfrom the public computing kiosk to the third party provider; receiving,at the public computing kiosk from the third party provider subsequentto transmitting the authentication information, a transmission includingat least one content element; executing, at the public computing kiosk,the at least one content element; and displaying, at the publiccomputing kiosk, a result of the execution of the at least one contentelement.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at thepublic computing kiosk from the hand-held device, a request to downloadthe at least one content element from the public computing kiosk to thehand-held device; and sending the at least one content element from thepublic computing kiosk to the hand held device in response to therequest to download the at least one content element.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the content element is a software program.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the third-party provider and the first-partyoperator are different entities.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thewireless communication is transmitted via a near field communicationlink.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the third party provider is aprovider of the hand-held device.
 7. A method for making contentelements available for use at a public computing kiosk operated by afirst-party operator, comprising: receiving at the public computingkiosk a wireless communication from a hand-held device utilized by asecond-party end user located in close physical proximity to the publiccomputing kiosk, the wireless communication including authenticationinformation associated with a third-party provider, wherein thehand-held device includes a near field communication (NFC) tag, thepublic computing kiosk includes an NFC reader for reading the NFC tag, akiosk CPU, a kiosk memory, and a kiosk display, and the wirelesscommunication is transmitted via an NFC link; transmitting theauthentication information from the public computing kiosk to the thirdparty provider; receiving, at the public computing kiosk from the thirdparty provider subsequent to transmitting the authenticationinformation, a first transmission including a set of contentdescriptors; and displaying, at the public computing kiosk, the set ofcontent descriptors.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:accepting, as input at the public computing kiosk, selection of at leastone content descriptor from the set of content descriptors by thesecond-party end user; transmitting information identifying the at leastone content descriptor from the public computing kiosk to the thirdparty provider; and receiving, at the public computing kiosk from thethird party provider subsequent to transmitting information identifyingthe at least one content descriptor, at least one content elementcorresponding to the at least one content descriptor.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising: executing, at the public computing kiosk,the at least one content element.
 10. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: displaying, at the public computing kiosk, a result of theexecution of the at least one content element.
 11. The method of claim8, further comprising: receiving, at the public computing kiosk from thehand-held device, a request to download the at least one content elementfrom the public computing kiosk to the hand-held device; and sending theat least one content element from the public computing kiosk to the handheld device in response to the request to download the at least onecontent element.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the content elementis a software program.
 13. The method of claim 7, wherein thethird-party provider and the first-party operator are differententities.
 14. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless communicationis transmitted via a near field communication link.
 15. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the third party provider is a provider of the hand-helddevice.
 16. A public computing kiosk operated by a first-party operator,comprising: a kiosk memory containing program instructions; a kioskdisplay; a near field communication (NFC) reader for reading an NFC tagvia an NFC link, wherein the NFC tag is associated with a hand-helddevice utilized by a second-party end user located in close physicalproximity to the NFC reader; and a kiosk CPU operable to execute theprogram instructions from the kiosk memory, wherein the programinstructions, when executed, cause the kiosk CPU to: receive a wirelesscommunication from the hand-held device, the wireless communicationincluding authentication information associated with a third-partyprovider, transmit the authentication information to the third partyprovider, receive, from the third party provider subsequent totransmitting the authentication information, a transmission including atleast one content element, execute the at least one content element, anddisplay, at the kiosk display, a result of the execution of the at leastone content element.
 17. The public computing kiosk of claim 16, whereinthe kiosk CPU is further operable to receive a request to download theat least one content element from the public computing kiosk to thehand-held device, and send the at least one content from the publiccomputing kiosk to the hand held device in response to the request todownload the at least one content element.
 18. The public computingkiosk of claim 16, wherein the content element is a software program.19. The public computing kiosk of claim 16, wherein the third-partyprovider and the first-party operator are different entities.
 20. Thepublic computing kiosk of claim 16, wherein the third party provider isa provider of the hand-held device.